Make Me Up
by selenehekate
Summary: Narcissa takes forever to get ready every day. Doesn't she know that Lucius thinks she's beautiful no matter what? Oneshot PD


_Make Me Up_

She tried so hard to be perfect. To make sure every last hair was in place, that every last wrinkle was smoothed from her clothing. Narcissa worked meticulously to paint both of her eyes in a symmetrical, beauteous manner fit for someone worthy of the Malfoy name. Her appearance was of the utmost importance to her - even on the days when she never left her house, even when she didn't run into anyone at all. She _needed _to be perfect.

Not that Lucius Malfoy agreed. Oh, sure he appreciated how hard she worked to look her best when it came to interacting with members of their society. But on a Sunday morning when it was just the two of them sitting on the veranda sipping tea? It didn't matter to him if she wore a ball gown or a morning robe. He was just happy to spend his time with her.

Yet Narcissa couldn't just relax with her husband without looking flawless. She needed to be stunning and immaculate all at once. It was her job as a Pureblood wife to always be beautiful, to never look common. So she worked for hours each day, trying her hardest to please the social standards that she felt compelled to live up to. Until one day, Lucius Malfoy had enough.

"We're just taking a short stroll around the garden, Narcissa," he pled with his wife. "You _don't_ need to fix your hair for that."

"What if we run into someone we know?" she inquired, shooting him a hard look as she moved towards her dressing table.

"On my property? Yes, well we can't allow the opinions of a _trespasser _to be poor, now can we?" Lucius said with a roll of his eyes.

"That may be, but then Ministry officials will need to be called to take said trespasser away," she pointed out as she reached for her hairbrush. "Their opinions actually _do_ matter."

"The odds of that occurring are rather slim."

"And yet they still exist," she said with a small smile. She leaned forward, drawing herself closer to the mirror she stared into. "Besides, I do wish to look beautiful for you, dear. Surely you can't argue with that."

He gave a small shake of his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. "We've been married for twenty years. I've seen you without your make-up on and your hair done up before, you know. It really doesn't make a difference."

Her hands stilled at his words, her breath hitching in her throat. Lucius uncrossed his arms at her sudden stillness, concern drawing him closer. "I will not leave this room until I feel I'm pretty enough for you, Lucius," she said softly, her head bent down. "That's final."

His stance relaxed, and he immediately reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back tight against his body. "Oh, Cissy," he whispered as he gently kissed her cheek. "You missed my point. I've seen you without your make-up on, darling, and you're as beautiful as ever. You don't need all of that extra work to be gorgeous. You'll always be beautiful to me."

She twisted in his arms, coming face to face with him. "You're just saying that because you wish to take your walk through the garden."

"No, you ridiculous woman. I'm saying it because I love you," he said with a small smile as he leaned down to kiss her square on the mouth.

* * *

_So this piece, oddly enough, was inspired by a true story between me and my current boyfriend, who from this point forwards, I shall call "pseudo-boyfriend" so as not to confuse him with my ex who I publicly called "boyfriend." Though psuedo-boyfriend and I have not been together for twenty years, he was still really sweet and was very clear in letting me know that he loved me for me, and that I was beautiful even without make-up, and I feel like Narcissa and Lucius would be the same way. _

_This was also written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp with the prompt "meticulously". Please review it and tell me what you think! I'd love some criticism. Thanks!_

_Finally, this was also written for fellow fanfic author wynnebat, whose birthday is today. So happy birthday, wynnebat! I hope I did Narcissa/Lucius justice!_

_Cheers!_

_-Selene_


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